Perfect mix of magic and mayhem

So I started to work on a new non-fiction project recently, something that I will call my Super Secret Project for the time being, and as a result, my fiction projects got pushed to the side…

Part of me is feeling a little guilty because I’ve been working on my novels for years and years, getting better at my craft and figuring out which path I want to take with them.

But at the same time, I’ve never been this passionate about anything that wasn’t fiction writing, so now that I’ve discovered this new thing, I can’t help but pursue it. I have to rearrange my priorities and focus on getting this project off the ground because if I don’t, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

There will always be stories in my head, ready to be told. And I’ll keep working on them because I love them. But for the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a kind of sabbatical – to pursue this shiny new thing 🙂

Major Samantha Carter and Buffy were an integral part of my growing up. And yes, I realize that I just dated myself pretty bad. Shut up. That’s not the point. Strong female characters who are allowed to be vulnerable without it costing them their strenght is the point.

The problem is, after Sam Carter and Buffy, my expectations, when it came to the female characters in my media, were somewhat high. And more often than not that amazing woman needs to be saved from a monster, a magic curse or a serial killer. TV shows and movies more so than books, American media more so than European ones.

When Tess Gerritsen’s crime novel series was adapted into the TV show Rizzoli & Isles, a book series I adore with the power of a thousand suns, I was terrified watching the pilot, when Jane Rizzoli was tied up in a van, in danger of being killed. I wasn’t afraid that she would die (she was, after all, a title character). I was scared that they would have her male partner save her.

He didn’t. She saved herself.

It’s my greatest fear and a thing I hate the most in stories.

A female character who is established is tough and a fighter, who needs a man to save her, solve the mystery, fix the problems.

Ugh, no.

It’s the reason why I told myself that any story I ever write will never have a female protagonist be a passive participant. She might need guidance or help (because sometimes there’s stenght in numbers), but she will not be a helpless damsel losing her agenda because there’s a strong man there intent of saving her.

It does mean that sometimes I have to work around some plot problems and get creative when it comes to solutions. Sometimes Istruggle and it takes longer than it would otherwise. But it’s worth it and you better believe I will continue to do this, because ultimately, I think it’s important. And it might be important to others as well.